AUBURN HILLS, Mich.  Fists were flying. So were cups, plastic bottles and even a chair in one of the ugliest NBA brawls ever — and Indiana's Ron Artest was right in the middle of it.

The Pacers' Ron Artest, upper left, charged into the stands after a Detroit fan threw a cup at him.

ESPN

Artest and Stephen Jackson charged into the stands and fought with fans in the final minute of their game against the Detroit Pistons on Friday night, and the brawl forced an early end to the Pacers' 97-82 win. (Related item: Box score)

Officials stopped the game with 45.9 seconds remaining after pushing and shoving between the teams spilled into the stands once fans got involved by throwing things at the players near the scorer's table.

"It's the ugliest thing I've seen as a coach or player," said Pistons coach Larry Brown, who was in the middle of the confrontation, trying to break it up. "There's no excuse for fans to act that way and there's no excuse for players to (respond). I was worried about our players' families and young kids. I've just never seen anything like that. I didn't know what to do, personally."

After several minutes of players fighting with fans in the stands, a chair, beer, ice, and popcorn were thrown at the Pacers as they made their way to the locker room in one of the scariest brawls in an NBA game.

"I felt like I was fighting for my life out there," Pacers coach Rick Carlisle said. "I'm sorry the game had to end this way."

The Palace announcer said the game was being stopped and pleaded with fans not to throw things.

About three hours following the startling finish, Auburn Hills police walked out of a television trailer with videotapes gathered from various media outlets.

Officers interviewed witnesses at the arena in suburban Detroit, and planned to talk to the players involved.

"We'll put it all together, take it to the Oakland County Prosecutors Office and have them review it and they'll decide if there are any charges," Auburn Hills Deputy Chief Jim Mynsberge said.

"I hope we can do it before Thanksgiving." Mynsberge added: "At this time, we don't have any indication of major injuries."

It all started when Detroit's Ben Wallace went in for a layup and was fouled hard by Artest from behind, and escalated when Artest stormed into the stands after being hit by a full cup.

After being fouled, Wallace wheeled around and pushed Artest in the face. The benches emptied and punches were thrown.

As the players continued shoving each other near center court and coaches tried to restore order, Artest lay on the scorer's table, one leg casually draped over his knee and his hands behind his head.

Duane Burleson, AP

Indiana's Ron Artest is grabbed by fans after he went into the seats.

But just when it appeared tempers had died down, a fan threw a drink that landed on Artest's chest. Artest jumped up, and charged into the stands, throwing punches as he climbed over seats.

Fans were punching back, and Jackson and another teammate joined Artest in the melee.

"I was worried about Stephen Jackson and Artest, as silly as they were acting," Brown said.

Security personnel and ushers tried to break up the fighting. Former Pistons player Rick Mahorn, who was seated courtside as a Detroit radio analyst, tried to stop the brawl in the stands.

"The police investigation is ongoing and that's it," said Pistons spokesman Matt Dobek, who refused to further comment.

Tom Wilson, president of Palace Sports and Entertainment, said he did not expect arrests to be made.

"I think it's a terrible thing, a terrible thing for sports and a terrible thing for basketball," Wilson said. "And however upset you get as a player, and there may have been reasons to get that upset, you don't cross that line. That's something you don't do.

Later, a man in a Pistons jersey approached Artest on the court, shouting at him. Artest punched him in the face, knocking the man to the floor before leaving the court. Artest was pulled away, and the fan charged back. Jermaine O'Neal stepped in and punched the man.

"The NBA is withholding comment until it can review the incident," NBA spokesman Tim Frank said.

Players from both teams left the arena without comment.

Carlisle, reached on his cell phone as the team rode to the airport in Detroit, backed his players.

"It's unfortunate because we played a great game," he said. "I support my guys 100%. We're going to stick together on this. To go beyond that is not in anybody's interest."

"I have never seen a fight like that in a game since I was in high school," he said. "Man, there are going to be some lawsuits. You don't think some of those fans aren't going to want some NBA money?"

Lamar Odom of the Lakers saw it for the first time as he was being interviewed.

"Whoooo. When you see things like that, just think about what it takes for NBA players to go into a crowd," Odom said. "Sometimes fans get kind of out of hand, but it must have taken a lot for NBA players to go into a crowd and start a fight."

Police prevented reporters from crossing the loading dock to get to Indiana's locker room or the area where the Pacers' bus was located.

Artest has been involved in some bizarre situations, but his latest antics topped them all.

Earlier this month, he was benched for two games for asking Carlisle for time off because of a busy schedule that included promoting a soon-to-be released rap album.

Artest also destroyed television monitors at Madison Square Garden two years ago and missed the team flight to Game 6 of the Eastern Conference finals at Detroit last season.

He has proved to be as talented as he is unpredictable.

Before the contest was stopped, Artest had quite a game and the Pacers were dominating the defending NBA champions in their first meeting since the Eastern Conference finals.

Artest scored 17 of his 24 points in the first quarter and the Pacers led by 20 in the second. Detroit used a 9-0 outburst early in the fourth quarter to close within 82-77.

The Pacers put the game away when Austin Croshere and Jackson made three-pointers on consecutive possessions to push their lead to 12 points with 4:31 left.

Despite the lopsided score in the final minute, most of the key players for both teams were still in the game.

The contest drew a capacity crowd of 22,076, but it had thinned toward the end of the game as the Pacers pulled away.